Mind-Body Approach

Due to advancements in neuroscience research is finally able to demonstrate what ancient healing traditions have known for Millennium, there is a mind-body connection. What has become increasingly evident is that this mind-body connection plays a profound role in healing, health and wellness.

Emotional stress and trauma can linger in the body as well as the mind. When exposed to a traumatic or even stressful situation  stress hormones (think adrenaline and cortisol) along with a variety of neurochemicals including catecholamine, serotonin, amino acid, peptide, and opioid neurotransmitters flood the system. These relate to the trauma response of fight/flight/freeze.

This response can get stuck in our system if not propoerly discharged and may ultimately create constant dysregulation in mood and emotion. Think of a time when you or someone you know seemed to have gone from 0-100 in just a few seconds. Or when an emotional response you had felt much larger than the actual trigger. For many people, this is unresolved trauma being remembered by the body.

These lingering neurochemicals make it tough for the trauma survivor to experience and regulate emotion in a typical way. Many individuals who have survived severe events can talk about what they experienced and hold tremendous insight into how it affects them, yet they still do not feel any better. Incorporating the body into the psychotherpay treatment can help move this old stuff and help us actually feel better.

The Greek Physician Hippocrates wrote, "The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well." This is the approach of Mind-Body Medicine. Mind-Body medicine incoprorates a variety of techniques such as; hypnosis, healing touch therapies, energy work, somatic therapies, meditation, yoga and many more. These techniques are utilized in a way to tap into and facilitate the self-healing process.